Buying more shares in your home
One of the benefits of being a shared owner is that you can buy more shares in your home, at your own pace.
Buying more shares in your home is known as ‘staircasing’. It increases your ownership/equity in the property and reduces your rent payments to us for the share you do not own.
The aspiration is for shared owners to eventually own their home outright, where affordable and where their lease allows full ownership.
Some of our leases are restricted, this means that shared owners cannot buy 100% of their home. You can find out more about restricted staircasing below.
How to staircase:
We offer a few options for buying more shares in your home.
Traditional staircasing allows you to buy from as little as 5% more shares in your home. The minimum amount you can staircase by will be set out in your lease.
Gradual staircasing lets shared owners buy an additional 1% share in their property each year, for 15 years since becoming a shared owner. Please note, this is not available to all shared owners - your lease will set out whether you are eligible.
Once you let us know you want to buy more shares, we will send you an information pack with guidance on the steps you will need to take.
Traditional staircasing
Buying shares from 5% is what we refer to as traditional staircasing. All shared owners can buy more shares in their home, the minimum amount can be different depending on your lease.
You will be asked to provide a Royal Institute Chartered Surveyors (RICS) market valuation report. This valuation will set the price for buying more shares and will remain valid for 3 months.
You will need to instruct a surveyor to act on your behalf and this should be mutually agreed between you and us. We have a panel for you to choose from.
It’s important to let us know if you have carried out improvement works at your property since we will need to have consented to the works. If the works haven’t received consent from us, it may mean that we will disregard the added value that the improvements bring to your home. You can find more information on our Alterations and permissions page.
We will ask you to evidence how you will be buying more shares in your home, and you will be offered the chance to speak with one of our panel Mortgage Advisors who can help you determine what is affordable to you.
When we have agreed the sale of the shares, we will instruct our solicitors who will communicate directly with your solicitor to finalise the purchase.
Potential costs
You will need to pay fees to buy more shares. These may include but are not limited to: 
- Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuation cost
- Solicitors/legal fees  
- Mortgage fees (including valuation fees, if applicable)
- Stamp Duty 
- Cost of your additional shares which will be based on the RICS valuation 
- bpha processing fee 
Gradual staircasing
If you are eligible to buy additional shares of 1% each year for 15 years from becoming a shared owner, you will receive a valuation from us each year with your rent review. This is based on the house price index (HPI) and the valuation will remain valid for 3 months.
To keep costs to a minimum for you, you do not need a Royal Institute Chartered Surveyors (RICS) market valuation report. We will calculate the value of your home using HPI. You will also not need to instruct a solicitor to act for you.
You will be asked to evidence how you are funding the purchase. Following this, you will be sent the paperwork for signing.
When we agree a completion date with you, you will be asked to make payment for the 1% share to us.
Restricted staircasing
Information regarding restricted staircasing will be set out in your lease and your solicitor should have made you aware at the time of purchasing your home.
Some Shared Ownership homes have restricted staircasing and this is often accompanied by a local restriction clause in the lease. The aim is to make sure affordable homeownership is always available to local people and would be a requirement of the local authority, this is known as a designated protected area (DPA).
You can still utilise traditional staircasing and gradual staircasing (if you are eligible) with a restricted staircasing lease but the maximum shares you can own will be 75% or 80%, depending on your lease.
If you have bought an Older Persons Shared Ownership home, you will not pay rent once you own 75%. 
Things to keep in mind
Your rent payments will reduce when you buy more shares in your home, but the service charge may still be charged.
If you are buying all of the remaining shares in your home, taking your ownership to 100%, you may be offered a transfer of the freehold. You will then be responsible for the maintenance, repair and insurance of the building.
You will not be offered a transfer of the freehold if your home is an apartment.
If your property is an apartment and you own 100% of it, you may be charged ground rent.
Staircasing documents are not required to be registered at land registry. It is important that you keep your memorandum of staircasing in a safe place as you will need it if you want to sell your home in the future.
Get in touch
For any questions you have about buying more shares in your home, please contact our Homeownership Team.
Call us on 01234 674070 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, exc. Bank holidays) or email homeownership@bpha.org.uk
